Encouragement

Fun Fridays – October 20, 2017

By Steve Laubeon October 20, 2017

A change of pace today.

Do yourself a favor. Set aside 10 minutes. Turn up your speakers. Quiet your mind and heart. Close your eyes. Then play this video. The song “Alleluia” by Eric Whitaker is performed. (There is nothing to watch, only the album cover is displayed.)

While you let the music wash over you, pray.
Lift your burdens before the One and Only One who can help you carry your burdens.

Martin Luther wrote, “My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.”

In our world aggrieved by turmoil, tragedy, evil, loss, and pain it is my prayer that for these few moments your spirit can find comfort.

Oh, What a Time I’ve Had

By Karen Ballon July 5, 2017

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There are so many things about being an agent that I love. Finding new writers whose work resonated with, and moved, me. Building relationships with my amazing clients. The joy of working with them on their projects. Playing “matchmaker” and finding just the right publisher for them. Seeing publishers treat these wonderful writers with such enthusiasm and respect. Working with Steve, Tamela, and …

Category: Agency, Editing, Encouragement, Inspiration, Karen, PersonalTag: Agency, Karen Ball, Personal

Write Every Day

By Dan Balowon June 13, 2017

A young writer penned these words: “I haven’t written for a few days, because I wanted first of all to think about my diary. It’s an odd idea for someone like me to keep a diary; not only because I have never done so before, but because it seems to me that neither I—nor for that matter anyone else—will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Still, what does that …

Category: Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Anne Frank, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Is Your Glass Half Empty?

By Steve Laubeon June 12, 2017

Over the decades it has been interesting to listen to and read the various pundits regarding the publishing industry. Typically those who spell out doom and gloom get the attention (fortifying the idea that “if it bleeds, it leads”). At the same time there is the optimist position which is often derided for being unrealistic. After awhile I’ve learned to smile and simply get back …

Category: Christian, Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, Personal, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Encouragement, Faith, The Publishing Life

The Writer’s Responsibility

By Dan Balowon June 6, 2017

When you decide to pursue writing as a career or even an avocation, you probably are unaware of the responsibility bestowed upon you by the decision. There is no official ceremony involved, but there should be. This responsibility will change the way you interact with friends and relatives. It could even cause some friction between you and those close to you. Here’s the promise you make, which is …

Category: Encouragement, The Writing LifeTag: Discouragement, Encouragement, The Writing Life

The Damaged Author

By Dan Balowon May 16, 2017

Anyone can easily identify a person who has been damaged by life and in need of help. The same is true with damaged authors. If you are in this category, writing about your experiences and the lessons learned can be both cathartic and spiritually fruitful, but taking a damaged-life perspective into the professional world of book publishing will rarely work for anyone. If you know someone who is …

Category: Book Proposals, Encouragement, Faith, Get Published, PitchingTag: Encouragement, Get Published

Writing the Deeper Story

By Dan Balowon March 21, 2017

I realize this will probably date me, but I sincerely enjoyed a popular radio feature by Paul Harvey called, “The Rest of the Story.” I assume some reading this post today also remember it. For generations, the venerable radio commentator, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 90, told a little known story about a well-known person or event, only revealing the subject of the story at the end of …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Encouragement, Inspiration, Marketing, TheologyTag: Inspiration, Writing Craft

Amnesia: The Key to Success

By Dan Balowon February 28, 2017

At some point, anyone involved in motivational or inspirational communication will touch on the necessity of leaving the past behind and moving on from a painful experience or time of life in order to grow personally or professionally. Millions of people spend billions of dollars each year on counselors helping them overcome past issues in their lives. For Christians, leaving a past behind through …

Category: Encouragement, Faith, Inspiration, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Failure, Inspiration, Success, The Writing Life

The Writer’s STEP

By Karen Ballon November 30, 2016

As some of you know, I have asthma. As does one of my very best friends. And you know what these two…ahem…”seasoned” asthmatics love to do? Hike! Yup. We plod along, coughing and wheezing and laughing (or, to be more accurate, gasping) about how they’ll find our poor deceased selves on the path, but that’s okay, because at least we went out doing what we love. I realize that people who don’t know …

Category: Career, Encouragement, Faith, Get Published, Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Encouragement, Faith, The Writing Life